II Concept of Houses for Hiroshima
Floyd Schmoe planned and played the central role in the home-building project Houses for Hiroshima. He was born in Kansas, the United States, on September 21, 1895. His family ran a farm and Schmoe took care of cattle and horses from the time he was child. He was taught to hate fights, specifically wars. Schmoe studied forestry at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington.
World War I broke out when Schmoe was in university. He sailed to France with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) volunteers to build houses for people whose towns had been destroyed. He also went to Germany and Poland to provide relief aid. After graduating from university, he worked as a naturalist at Mount Rainier National Park for eight years and after that became a lecturer and taught forestry at the University of Washington3.
When the war against Japan started in 1941, Schmoe’s life changed drastically. Japanese Americans who lived in the West Coast of the United States and some areas of Hawaii were evicted and forced to live in camps. There were Japanese American students studying at the University of Washington. Schmoe transferred those students to schools on the East Costs so that they could continue to study. He also quit the university in protest against this American policy and was engaged in support for Japanese American students held in the camps. People detained in camps were allowed to bring in few belongings. Being abandoned, destroyed, and plundered, some houses were in a terrible state. Along with his volunteers, Schmoe also repaired such Japanese Americans’ houses4.
Under such circumstances, the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945. Learning of the atomic bombing, Schmoe was greatly shocked and deeply hurt in his heart. He wrote “I heard this horrible news at my office 5,000 miles (about 8,000km) away from the city which experienced the tragedy, however, I was shocked and deeply hurt5”. After that, he heard parts of John Hersey’s reportage Hiroshima, which had originally appeared in the magazine the New Yorker, on the radio6. Hersey visited Hiroshima in May 1946 as a correspondent of Time and the New Yorker and interviewed six people in different walks of life such as a pastor, a doctor, and a housewife. The reportage described the atomic bomb experience and relief activities in detail, portraying the horror of the indiscriminate sacrifice of ordinary people in the atomic bombing, and receiving attention around the world. Schmoe learned about the reality of the a-bomb survivors through the reportage in Hiroshima. He thought that there was something he could do for those a-bomb survivors and also wanted to convey apology and sadness as an American7. However, Schmoe also thought that his feelings could not be conveyed by words alone. He thought he needed to do something to convey his feelings. Then, he decided to go to Hiroshima to build houses for those who lost their homes in the atomic bombing. He believed the people in Hiroshima would understand his feelings by seeing his support8.
His thoughts are written in a letter to Ruth Jenkins, who later helped him build houses in Hiroshima, asking her to participate in the project.
“This is not only for one family out of 2 million Japanese people who lost their homes in the atomic bombing, but also to show the feelings of many American people who regret that innocent Japanese people suffered due to the bombing. Hiroshima is the place that records the serious crime that we committed. Because it is the city that suffered the worst attack in this war, I want to build houses in this city.9”
3 Letter from Floyd Schmoe Floyd W. Schmoe Papers, 1903-1993 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Accession No.0496-008 Box12 Folder 16
4 Testimony of Daisy Tibbs, 2012, People engaged in exhibition of Houses for Hiroshima at Schome House
5 Floyd Schmoe, “A HOUSE FOR HIROSHIMA”Floyd W. Schmoe Papers, 1903-1993 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Accession No.0496-008 Box12 Folder 1
6 Floyd Schmoe, “A HOUSE FOR HIROSHIMA”Floyd W. Schmoe Papers, 1903-1993 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Accession No.0496-008 Box12 Folder 1
7 Floyd Schmoe, “A HOUSE FOR HIROSHIMA”Floyd W. Schmoe Papers, 1903-1993 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Accession No.0496-008 Box12 Folder 1
8 “HOUSE FOR HIROSHIMA … A Quaker concern in action” Floyd W. Schmoe Papers, 1903-1993 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Accession No.0496-008
9 Letter from Floyd Schmoe to “Pinky.”January 9, 1949 Emery E. Andrews papers, 1925-1959 University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections Accession No.1908-001 Box 1 Folder 15
